 | Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia. |  |
No. IV.
Names of some of the Old and Leading Families in Eastern
Virginia in Colonial Times and Immediately Succeeding the
Revolution.[4]
[The following has been furnished by Mr. Francis Cabell, of Warminster, Va.,
to whom I am indebted for other valuable communications.]
Allen, Alexander, Ambler, Archer, Armistead, Atkinson, Aylett, Acril.
Bacon, Baker, Ball, Baldwin, Ballard, Bankhead, Banister, Bassett,
Baylor, Baynham, Berkeley, Beverley, Birchett, Blair, Bland, Bolling,
Bouldin, Booth, Bowyer, Bradley, Brent, Braxton, Bowdoin, Browne,
Brooke, Broadnaxe, Burwell, Burnley, Butler, Buckner, Byrd, Baskerville,
Branch, Booker, Blow.
Cabell, Calloway, Carr, Carrington, Carter, Cary, Catlett, Chamberlayne,
Christian, Clopton, Claiborne, Clayton, Clarke, Cocke, Coleman, Coles,
Colston, Cooper, Conway, Corbin, Custis, Crawford.
Dabney, Daniel, Davenport, Davis, Dandridge, Digges, Dulany.
Edmunds, Edwards, Eggleston, Eldridge, Ellis, Embry, Eppes, Everard,
Eyre.
Fairfax, Farley, Faulcon, Field, Fitzgerald, Fitzhugh, Fleming, Fry.
Gay, Gibbon, Gilmer, Goode, Goodwyn, Graves, Grayson, Green, Griffin,
Grymes, Grammar, Greenway, Garnett, Garland, Gaines, Gholson.
Hackley, Hansford, Hardaway, Harmer, Harrison, Harvie, Herbert,
Hill, Holliday, Holmes, Hooe, Howard, Hubard, Hairston, Heath, Heth,
Hicks, Hopkins, Hawkins, Hodges, Henderson, Haynes.
Innes, Irby.
Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Jones, Joynes.
Kennon, King.
Lanier, Lee, Lewis, Lightfoot, Littlepage, Littleton, Lomax, Ludwell,
Lyons, Leftwich.
Mallory, Martin, Marshall, Marye, Mason, Massie, Matthews, Mayo,
Meade, Mercer, Minor, Meredith, Merriwether, Michie, Minge, McCarty,
Moore, Moseley, Munford, Morris, Morton, Mosby.
Nash, Nelson, Newton, Nicholas, Nivison, Norvell, Noland.
Page, Parke, Parker, Peachey, Pegram, Pendleton, Penn, Peter, Peyton,
Phillips, Pierce, Pleasants, Pollard, Pope, Powell, Poythress, Prentiss,
Price, Prosser, Posey.
Randolph, Reade, Riddick, Roane, Robertson, Robinson, Rose, Ruffin,
Russell, Royall.
Savage, Saunders, Scarburgh, Selden, Shepherd, Short, Skelton, Skipwith,
Slaughter, Spottswood, Stanard, Stevenson, Stith, Stokes, Steptoe,
Strother, Swann, Syme, Spencer.
Tabb, Talbot, Taliafero, Tayloe, Taylor, Tazewell, Terry, Thornton,
Todd, Travis, Trent, Tucker, Tyler.
Upshur, Upshaw; Venable, Vaughn.
Waller, Walker, Walton, Wade, Ward, Waryng, Washington, Watkins,
Watson, West, Wickham, Webb, Whiting, Westwood, Wilkins, Wilcox,
Willis, Winston, Williams, Withers, Wood, Woodson, Wise, Wormley,
Wyatt, Wythe.
Yates, Yelverton.
A very few Scotch and Irish names are found in this list,—still more of
Welsh; but the great body of them are English or British, (other than
Saxon.)[5]
The above list of names is a copy of one which was drawn up for the writer's
own use, and which, having grown by gradual accretion from a small nucleus, is
still very imperfect. Especially is it defective in the names of many who resided
in the lower counties, or in the Northern Neck, or the other necks between the
large rivers. It is not pretended that these families were all of the ancient "aristocracy,"
so called, although most of them might have certain representatives among
the gentry of the country. Some of them were "novi homines" within the memory
of the living. They are here arranged in alphabetical order: those who are
acquainted with our political and social history will know how to classify them
according to another standard. Neither are they assigned to any determined locality.
The original ancestral seats might be assigned to certain counties in most cases;
but their posterity in many others is too widely dispersed.
Welsh Names to be found in the United States and many of them in Virginia.
Atkins, Adams, Apjohn, Apthorp, Aubrey.
Balch, Barlow, Bayly, Benlow, Bevan, Bowen, Boydell, Breese, Broadus, (Broadhurst,)
Broughton, Bulkley.
Cadwallader, Catesby, Clements, Cloyd, Conway, Coates, Cobbs, Cerwin, Craddock,
(Caradoc,) Crute, (Crwt,) Cunliffe.
Davis, Davies, Dawkins, Denby, Dickins, Dickinson, Dewey.
Edmunds, Edwards, Evans.
Fane, Fielding, Floyd, Fluellen.
Garland, Gerald, Glyn, Godwin, Griffin, Griffith, Gwathney, Gwillyn, Gwynn,
Gwinnett, Graves.
Hawkins, Hanmer, Harris, Haskins, Hawkins, Havard, Haynes, Hopkins, Hoskins,
Herbert, Hickes, Holland, Howell, Howland, Hughes, Humphreys, Hurst.
Jenyns, Jenkyns, Judkins, Junkin, Jeffreys, Jefferson, Jacobs, James, Jones,
Johnes, Isaacs.
Langhorn, Leigh, Lewis, Lewellyn, Lister, Lloyd, Ludlow, Lyman.
Maddock, (Madoc,) Matthews, Mansel, Meredith, Meyrick or Merrick, Morgan,
Miles, Morris, Morse, Mosby, Mostyn, Middleton.
Nichols, Norris, Nevin or Nevins.
Owen, Owens.
Pannill, Par, Parry, Parkins, Perkins, Perkinson, Peacock, Peters, Penn, Pendergast,
Pennant, Pickens, Phillips, Poole, Polwhell, Powell, Powys, Price, Pratt,
Prichard, Pugh, Pym.
Richards, Rees or Reece, Rice, Rivers, Rowland, Roberts, Rogers, Ragland.
Stokes, Stanley, Stephens, Shelby, Simonds or Simmons, Snowden.
Thomas, Tompkins, Trevelyan, Trevor, Tudor, Tyndale or Tindall.
Vane or Fane, Vaughn.
Watkins or Gwatkin, Williams, Winn, Wilkins, Wilkinson, Watts, Walters or Waters,
Wills, Willis, Wallis, Wall, Warner, Wayles, Wilks, Womack, Wootan, Wayne.
1. The following surnames are taken from those of the ancient princes of the
country:—Cadwallader, Griffin, Gwynnett, (Gwynnedd,) Craddock, (Caradoc,)
Howell, Lewellyn, Madoc, Owen, Rice, (Rhuys,) Tudor, (Tewdor.)
2. These by adding "s" to Scripture names,—viz.: Adams, Daniels, Davies,
(Davids,) Ellis, (Elias,) Johnes or Jones, James, Isaacs, Jacobs, Matthews, Phillips,
Stephens, Symonds, Peters, Thomas.
3. And these by adding "s" to common Christian names:—Clements, Edmunds,
Edwards, Evans, Hughes, Humphreys, Jeffreys, (Geoffreys,) Richards, Roberts,
Rowlands, Wills, Williams, Watts, Walters.
4. "Ap" or "ab" means son, and is often prefixed to other names; and the affix
"kins" denotes a collateral relation: thus, Bevan is equivalent to Ap-Evan; Bowen,
Ap-Owen; Breese, Ap-Rees; Parry, Ap-Harry; Powell, Ap-Howell; Pugh, ApHugh;
Price, Ap-Rice; Prichard, Ap-Richard; Penry, Ap-Henry. Atkins, (Arthurs'-kin,)
Dickens-son, Dawkins, Haskins, Hawkins, Hopkins, Jenkins, Judkins,
(Judas-kin,) Pickens, Perkins-son, Tomkins, Watkins, Wilkins.
5. Some of the above names may be Cornish, old British, or otherwise Celtic,
rather than strictly Welsh; thus, the English have a proverb,—
You may know the Cornish men"
6. It is curious to note how many of the original Puritans of New England, of
the Quakers of Pennsylvania, of the Baptists of Virginia and elsewhere, of advocates
of extreme republican opinions in matters of State, as well as of Revolutionary
leaders, bore names to be found in the above list. Of very many of the citizens
of the Piedmont district, in Virginia, the same may be said. Their ancestors may
have been attracted thither from its resemblance to the Principality in its physical
features.
| Old churches, ministers and families of Virginia. | |